Chinese Sks, cleaning/restoring wood stock

[Mars5l]

Just bought a military Chinese SKS that was caked in grease/cosmoline. I wanna know the best way to clean the stock and get all the grease and dirt out. I'm getting mineral spirits this week to clean the metal parts. The stock is serialized to the receiver so don't plan to sand it. And is there any kind of treatment oil on should use on it after?

 

[troy fairweather]

Some time in the hot sun or very hot room first,

 

[Mosin Bubba]

Paint thinner for the metal is a good idea. I like non-chlorinared brake cleaner, but there's more than one right answer.

Sweating out the cosmoline in a plastic bag is a good low-risk move too, if spring in your area brings warm enough temps.

For treating the stock, I like linseed oil. It doesn't really protect the wood, but it does re-hydrate it and make it look better.

 

[herrwalther]

Mineral spirits will work on the stock and metal. It will also help clean some of the grime out of the stock so you can see more of what is going on underneath. Lots of oils will refinish a stock. Personally I would want to see how dark it is after cleaning before deciding what you want to do with it.

 

[Deus Machina]

Mineral spirits, then suspend the stock above a catch tray and apply heat.
How hot does your attic get?
How angry would the Mrs. get if you popped it in the oven at 120 for a day?

 

[Ugly Sauce]

The hot sun is a nice gentle way to do it. I had a SMLE that sweated grease in the sun for weeks once.

 

[Pat Riot]

I had one of those SKS’s years ago and it looked a lot like yours. It was covered in cosmoline like yours. I have “recommissioned” a few cosmoline covered ling guns. It’s never easy but the results are worth it snd you get to know your rifle better.

I agree with the paint thinner or mineral spirits for s as ll parts including the wood BUT, do not do as a buddy did and submerge the stock in mineral spirits and let is soak. It ruined the stock and messed up the wood.
I clean as much of the stock I can with mineral spirits and then set it in the sun for a while. Heat is your friend. Just not too much heat. Wipe down the side exposed to the sun and flip it over. Believe it or not this process can take a couple of days, even then you may get soon cosmoline seepage over time so don’t going shooting on a hot day in your Sunday best.

Oh, use cotton rags to wipe off the solvent and cosmoline. Rags you can toss. If you’re married I HIGHLY recommend that you DO NOT wash and dry your old cosmoline covered rags in the washer and drier. Trust me on this. 20 years from the day you do this you will be hearing about it.

 

[Gus Chiggins]

I put the stocks in my oven on warm. They just fit diagonally. I put a pie plate under the butt and it caught most of the cosmoline that came out. The rest I wiped off with paper towels every 15-20 minutes. I did this until the paper towels didn't show any more. There was actually enough cosmo in the pie plate to fill half of the oil bottle that comes with the rifles.

 

[Cornhusker77]

I've heard of people putting the stocks in a trash bag and on the dash of a parked car to sweat out some of the cosmo.

 

[Mars5l]

Well picked up a gallon mineral spirits, some brushes and some fine sandpaper pads

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Do you mean like the scotch brite pads? That might be better than even fine sandpaper. I'd scotch brite it before I tried sandpaper. ?

 

[sharkman]

I've heard of people putting the stocks in a trash bag and on the dash of a parked car to sweat out some of the cosmo.

Used this method many times, worked great.

 

[Speedo66]

I've heard of people putting the stocks in a trash bag and on the dash of a parked car to sweat out some of the cosmo.

Black plastic contractor bags in the hot sun absorb a tremendous amount of solar heat. I also put motorcycle tires in the sun, softens the rubber making them easier to mount.

Be prepared to wipe off oozing grease for several days, keep it in the sun until the outpouring stops.

Good luck with your new gun!

 

[bfoosh006]

https://www.originalcosmoline.com/s...ove-cosmoline-from-military-surplus-firearms/

 

[d2wing]

Kerosene and scrubbing pads and steel wool.